1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system, a device, an apparatus, a program, and a method for performing the output of printing, etc. on the basis of output data, and particularly, relates to an output system, a network device, an output data managing device, an output program, an output data managing program, and an output method suitable for the improvement of security and the improvement of a degree of freedom for changing an output destination.
2. Related Art
When printing is performed by a network printer and the host terminal of a user exists in a place separated from the network printer, there is a possibility that the contents of a printed matter are seen by others while the user goes to the place of the network printer. There is a problem when a confidential document not desirous to be seen by others is printed. Therefore, it is desirably required to arrange a security function in the network printer.
For example, a printing system disclosed in JP-A-11-353137 and an image forming apparatus described in JP-A-2002-149385 are formerly known as techniques for improving the security of the network printer.
In the invention described in JP-A-11-353137, when a document is printed from a host terminal, a print command with a password number is first transmitted to the network printer. In the network printer, the received print command is developed to an image of a page in a frame memory, and is then data-compressed and accumulated. The user then actually comes to the arranging place of the network printer and inputs the password number to the network printer. At that time, print processing is started for the first time by using the accumulated compressed data. When the total amount of the compressed data exceeds the capacity of the accumulation in the network printer, the compressed data are deleted from the compressed data of a job previously accumulated.
In the invention described in JP-A-2002-149385, when a print job of a confidential print mode is received and no printable state is attained at present, this print job is transferred to another network printer. In this case, the print job is transferred in a compulsory print mode only in a case in which the network printer of a transfer destination is closely located and it is a state able to be immediately printed out. In contrast to this, when the network printer of the transfer destination is distantly located or no print-out operation can be immediately performed even in a close place, the print job is again transferred by the confidential print mode. Thus, even when a problem such as a paper jam, etc. is generated in the network printer requesting the print, the printed matter can be reliably acquired by another network printer.
However, in the invention described in JP-A-11-353137, when the password number is once inputted to the network printer, the printing is continued until the printing is completed. Therefore, when the situation arises that the user must separate from the place of the network printer on the way to the printing, a problem exists in that there is a possibility that the contents of the printed matter are seen by others.
Further, in the invention described in JP-A-2002-149385, when no printable state is attained at present, the print job is transferred to another network printer. Therefore, it is impossible to cope with a case in which the user must perform the printing by another network printer. Accordingly, in the print processing based on one print job, a problem exists in that the degree of freedom for changing the network printer as a printing destination is low.
Such a problem is not limited to the case for performing the printing by the network printer. For example, such a problem is similarly possible in a case in which a display device of a projector, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc. is connected to a network and display is performed by the display device, etc. For example, when the invention described in JP-A-11-353137 is applied to a system for performing display using the above projector and presentation is performed by using the projector and the situation arises that the user must separate from the projector on the way at any cost, etc., there is a fear that the problem that the contents of the presentation are freely seen by others is caused. Further, for example, when the invention described in JP-A-2002-149385 is applied to a system for performing display by using the above LCD and some information is intended to be referred by the LCD, the information is transferred to another LCD only when this LCD cannot be used due to a breakdown, etc. Therefore, when there is a request desirous to merely display the information by another LCD, there is a fear that the problem that this request cannot be satisfied is caused.